University–community engagement in South Africa: dilemmas in benchmarking

Abstract

The increasing value of community engagement activities in universities worldwide is yielding a rising emphasis on benchmarking university-community engagement. However, the emergence of effective benchmarks is still at an incipient stage. This article aims to provide some practical directions for developing a systematic approach to benchmarking university-community engagement within the South African milieu. The observation is made that comparative university experiences could provide useful insights into the challenges of evaluating university-community engagement in South Africa, and proposes what the responsive modalities could be. Extrapolating from such experiences and analysing the measurement tools in literature, this article examines the conceptual quandaries involved and proffers a typology of approaches to university-community engagement to highlight aspects that South African universities might want to address in benchmarking community engagement activities. A critique of the scenarios presented and the lessons learned provides the basis for the key questions South African universities may need to ask when determining appropriate benchmarking tools.

Towards the institutionalisation of community engagement in higher education in South Africa

“…Through a research initiative undertaken in a rural town in South Africa, Albertyn, Botha, Van der Merwe, Le Roux and Coetzee concluded that teaching and learning related to community development principles, planned activities, appropriate research methods, quality, ethical issues, sustainability and reciprocal benefits were the criteria to ensure an integrated approach to community engagement. Olowu's (2012) article provided greater insights into developing a systematic approval for benchmarking universitycommunity engagement in South Africa and is relevant to enabling institutionalisation of CE.…”

“…This led to the development of multiple institutional assessment tools that reflect institutional commitment to community engagement through the university's mission, structures, leadership and through, faculty and community involvement (Furco, 1999;Holland, 2006). The development of effective benchmarking tools for university community engagement is still however, in its infancy in South Africa (Olowu, 2012).…”

“…Transforming institutional culture however requires "a new set of practices, creating new structures, and revising policies," which collectively requires organisational change (Olowu, 2012:99). Institutional leadership is crucial to transforming institutional culture (Olowu, 2012). Moreover, connecting universities to their communities have the potential for transformational change as it can contribute to reshaping institutional practices and purposes (Boyer, 1990).…”

Community engagement and accounting education research

“…Unfortunately, there are very few tools available to assess community engagement efficiently. There is also no clearly defined benchmark of what effective community engagement would entail (Olowu, 2012). It is, however, possible to develop a conceptual framework that is unique to a specific institution.…”

“…The conceptual framework should also be aligned with the wider development goals to be effective in its execution (Pienaar-Steyn, 2012). All being well, academics' performances can be measured and rewarded if there is an efficient system in place that provides a framework and benchmarking (Olowu, 2012).…”